Jenny Rathbone: Thank you very much for your report. I think one of the important things that you highlighted is that almost one in 10 parents accessing the childcare offer said that they wouldn't be able to work if it wasn't for the offer. And that's absolutely correct, because childcare is just far too expensive compared with the wages that most people can command. This is very much a work in progress for...
Jenny Rathbone: So, I tried searching for care for two-year-olds from the place where I used to live in Llanedeyrn. Nothing came up within a mile. I then searched for support for childcare for a Llanedeyrn post code that's in the Flying Start area, and once again I was disturbed that nothing flashed up within a mile. That is not accurate. And, if it's not accurate, then it's extremely difficult for people...
Jenny Rathbone: I'm making an important point.
Jenny Rathbone: 'The shocking reality is that this winter, we are likely to see charities being forced to stop feeding the hungry so they can help the starving, cut back on support to the poorly housed so they can focus on the fast-rising numbers of homeless, and give up on helping the down-at-heel because their priority has to be the destitute.' These are not my words, but those of Dr Rowan Williams and...
Jenny Rathbone: —and I think this is the model that we could be using for all manner of entitlements that people are getting.
Jenny Rathbone: Clearly, the Grenfell fire illustrated a failure of building regulations and a failure of enforcement, which all public bodies and private contractors have to bear some responsibility for. It's really unedifying that different contractors are still squabbling over who is responsible and, meanwhile, leaseholders are left in a completely impossible situation. The Welsh Government has been...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you. It's over 15 years since the Corston report recommended that most women should not be going to prison, and that there need to be community sentences for these people. So, we need to be pursuing this at pace. Obviously, I would prefer it if we had a devolved criminal justice system. As the 'Justice at the Jagged Edge in Wales' report makes clear, this is the only Parliament and...
Jenny Rathbone: And—
Jenny Rathbone: I'd like to ask what support is available for students in further education and other colleges that generally serve the poorest students, because of the breadth of their curriculum. The UK Government gave no money to colleges in the financial statement last week, even though they did give some money to schools. What can colleges in South Wales Central expect from the Welsh Government?
Jenny Rathbone: Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. We live in very difficult times. We've seen the biggest reduction in public service support for many, many years, and we've got the highest inflation rate for 41 years, with consumer prices jumping over 10 per cent. Food prices have gone up over 16 per cent in the last 12 months, which is the biggest jump since September 1977, when Jim Callaghan was our Prime...
Jenny Rathbone: We've talked a lot about the epidemic of mental distress in our schools and colleges as a result of COVID and, obviously, people living in overcrowded, inadequate housing will have suffered greatly during the lockdown, but it isn't just poor housing that's the problem. Any child living in a dysfunctional home, where domestic violence is lurking under the radar, would have suffered from not...
Jenny Rathbone: Yes, sure.
Jenny Rathbone: I absolutely agree. And, you know, people fall out as well, so occasionally people will not want to go back to community hub X, because they need to go somewhere else. There are wonderful things being done by the voluntary sector, whether it's Rubicon Dance in my community, something called Rhythms Free Dance up in Cardiff North, which caters for people with learning difficulties—all free...
Jenny Rathbone: I thank all Members for their contributions and particularly Gareth Davies for having the courage to speak out, because it is your bravery and your preparedness to share your story that gives other people who are going through similar experiences the hope that they too can recover and then resume normal life. The way the way you described how you learn from every episode and setback in order...
Jenny Rathbone: I'd like to pay tribute to Travelling Ahead, first of all, which is a really excellent organisation, financially aided by the Welsh Government. It's really good at helping the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community assert their rights, but they really can't do it on their own, and that is why I'm really pleased that the Local Government and Housing Committee has looked at this, because we are...
Jenny Rathbone: 5. What discussions has the Welsh Government had with the construction industry on the decarbonisation of all Welsh homes? OQ58799
Jenny Rathbone: I recognise the excellent work that's been done through the optimised retrofit programme, which has certainly improved a lot of our social housing. I look forward to hearing the detail of next year’s net-zero skills plan, because that is going to be crucial in enabling the construction industry to plan for having the skills they need to decarbonise all our homes. I appreciate the Welsh...
Jenny Rathbone: Following up from what Heledd Fychan has said, I read with interest the statement that the First Minister put out yesterday about the achievements of his visit in terms of promoting Welsh interests and Welsh values. Now, I very much appreciate the action taken by the Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport not to attend last week's match between Wales and Iran in light of the brutal suppression...
Jenny Rathbone: Thank you. I just wanted to make two points that I would like you to consider when you take forward how you're going to implement these recommendations. It isn't just the voice of the child that needs to be heard; it is the voice of the front-line social worker, and the empowerment of the front-line social worker that needs to happen, to ensure that they feel confident that they can insist on...
Jenny Rathbone: Diolch, Llywydd. Thank you, Hannah, for your whistle-stop tour of the response to our recommendations, and we'll obviously have to consider them in detail subsequently. But we very much thank the Deputy Minister for engaging constructively during the Stage 1 process, as well as those 31 organisations and individuals who submitted written evidence, all the witnesses who gave evidence to the...
